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Thursday, July 23, 2015

The ADA’s Quarter Century Anniversary is Marked by New Enforcement Initiatives

There’s only a few more sleeps ahead of us before
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) turns 25 years old. The law was signed by President George H.W.
Bush on July 26, 1990. If you want to
take a trip down memory lane, you can find a video of the President’s signing
ceremony here. As the ADA’s historic moment approaches, you
can also watch for one of the various celebration events going on around the
country and track the ADA Legacy Busas it nears the
completion of its year-long celebration and awareness tour.

Since the ADA was enacted, the landmark law has been
expanded by the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which
significantly broadened the scope of disabilities protected by the ADA. In addition, the Genetic
Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) extended employment
discrimination law to applicants’ and employees’ genetic information. Now, as the ADA reaches the
quarter century mark, the Obama administration is making clear its continued
commitment to enforcing the landmark disability discrimination law.

A July 20, 2015, Fact
Sheetissued by the
White House announces a variety of new initiatives in employment, education,
and other areas. In the employment area,
employers should be aware that one new initiative is a July 23rd Memorandum of
Understanding between the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ)
related to the enforcement of the ADA and GINA.Under the ADA and GINA,
the EEOC receives and investigates charges of discrimination filed against
private employers and state and local government employers. The DOJ is, however, the sole federal entity
with the authority to sue state and local governments for ADA and GINA
violations. In addition, both the EEOC
and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division have the authority to independently initiate
ADA and GINA investigations against state and local government employers. Given the EEOC’s and DOJ’s related and
sometimes overlapping responsibilities, their new Memorandum of Understanding
is aimed at promoting and streamlining information sharing, investigation and
litigation coordination, and guidance, outreach, and training activities.

The new Memorandum of Understanding is part of a
continued pattern of increased federal agency cooperation and coordination. Earlier this year, the EEOC authored a
resource guide called “Recruiting,
Hiring, Retaining and Promoting People with Disabilities”
as part of a cross-agency initiative. The
guide is a helpful resource for all employers
– private or public – on their obligations to job applicants with disabilities.

In light of the renewed focus on the ADA and GINA,
employers should remain vigilant about their equal employment legal obligations
not to discriminate against qualified applicants or employees with disabilities
and to grant reasonable accommodations that do not constitute an undue
hardship.

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